About the project

What happens with birdsong during invasion of a new territory? To answer this question a
citizen science project looks for volunteers to record yellowhammers in New Zealand and
Great Britain to evaluate distribution of their dialects. Read more below...or download the leaflet (png|pdf). You can share it as you like.

Why yellowhammers?

The yellowhammer is a widespread, small and conspicuous songbird that seems ideal for studying the function of dialects in animal vocal communication. Its simple songs can be assigned to several dialects, broadly distributed in Europe but overlapping in a mosaic fashion. Most birds at a locality sing only one dialect, which seems locally stable over years.

Why Great Britain and New Zealand?

British yellowhammers have been purposefully introduced to New Zealand in the 19th
century, and quickly colonised it. This provides good conditions for studying song cultural
evolution during a biological invasion, and tracking how dialects spread.
For this, song recordings from various parts of both countries are needed.

Why volunteers?

The yellowhammer is easy to recognise, sings until late in the season, and its song can be
recorded by many common gadgets (including smartphones, digital cameras, or voice
recorders). Therefore, general public such as birdwatchers, tourists, or nature enthusiasts
can record yellowhammer songs in their vicinity, upload the recordings, and thus contribute
to a large-scale research project that would not be possible without their participation.

Can it work?

A similar citizen science project on yellowhammer dialects in the Czech Republic was a huge
success. During two years we obtained more than 1700 recordings covering most of the
country. Recording of yellowhammer songs enriched daily walks, bike trips, or family
journeys of our volunteers. For some, collecting of recordings from different places, and
seeing them appear on an interactive online map, became real passion.

Want to help?

If you can record yellowhammers for us, just follow the orange boxes on the top. They will guide you through all important steps.

Sister projects

We are open to accept sister projects from other countries, provided they will be "self-coordinated" - meaning that we will provide technical support, while the communication with volunteers and song analysis would be on respective research team.